A Route 66 fan from Michigan recently purchased the neon sign from the defunct Le Brun Motel that once stood in Needles, California, and plans to give it to a Route 66 neon museum in Missouri once he finishes some work on it.
Scott Sheehan revealed the purchase in an Instagram post. He wrote, in part:
Recently the sign from the Le Brun Motel on Route 66 in Needles, CA went up for auction on eBay and I won it. I still have reservations about the purchase as I’m a huge proponent of preservation on site. At the same time it had been on display locally for over a year after being gifted to a museum. The museum needed to raise some funds so they decided to auction it off. I decided at that point anyone in the country could buy it, might as well be me. Plus, I didn’t buy it to flip and make some money. I’ve already spoken to a friend in Missouri who wants it for a neon project on 66 in the Show Me State and that’s where it’ll go when I’m done with it.
A search through the eBay archive reveals the sign sold for $2,250.
ZachNews, based in Needles, reported in January 2018 the long-closed Route 66 motel was demolished to make way for a medical marijuana cultivation facility.
The motel stood at 2109 W. Broadway or 2109 Needles Highway (aka Route 66) in Needles. I’m not sure when the Le Brun closed; I found online travel guides from 2001 that indicated it still was open at that time.
(Image of the Le Brun Motel sign from Needles, California, via eBay auction)
Would like to know of and visit the Missouri project/museum. I’m a collector/enthusiast. Not going to try to buy that sign…would just like to see the project it will be a part of. Thanks.
I asked Scott online, and he said it would be part of a Route 66 neon museum in St. Robert that isn’t open yet and organizers still are fundraising for. However, that comment has been deleted, and Scott indicated that plan is tentative.
Nothing was deleted on my part. Also, I feel like people are misreading my comments. I bought the sign to keep it in the 66 community, not as a gift to the MO Route 66 Association. Like I said, when I’m done with the sign as in I’m tired of moving it around my shop I’ll sell it to a friend in MO for what I have into it. That will most likely be years down the road. I have some of the neon relit, but I’m planning to have it all glowing again at some point. When that day comes I’m going to enjoy the sign until I lose storage, or get tired of moving it around. That’s when I’ll call my friend and say your sign is ready.
That’s weird, Scott. I looked all over for my question and your follow-up comment, and I couldn’t find it. Must have been a glitch in Instagram that prevented it from showing.